Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area

It's an animal paradise!

Written on: March 30, 2015
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I visited in February 2015
With the light of a new dawn progressively streaming out across the floor as we made our way down the side of the crater, we rapidly understood what an animal ‘paradise’ the crater is.

They are all here except for cheetah, giraffe and leopard, the latter which can be found up around the top of the rim of the crater if you are very, very lucky. The animals can come and go if they choose, but most don’t because everything is here. The crater receives plenty of rain to grow food for the grazing animals, and there are plenty of those for the predators to eat.

So we started our full day watching hundreds of gazelles, wildebeest and zebra and plenty of their babies, then hyena harassing a small pride of lions who had just finished feeding on an overnight kill. There was another pride of lions sleeping off full stomachs from their overnight buffalo kill.

Breakfast was enjoyed parked near a large herd of resting cape buffalo; as we watched through binoculars, a black rhino and her baby were wandering across the plains area.

After watching some huge bull elephants near a marsh and another make two game drive cars look very small, we eventually had lunch next to a hippo pool along with a small crowd of other people.

There were many photos taken that day and as we climbed back out of the crater late in the day up another one-way road, thunderstorms swept in over the crater bringing brief but heavy rain to the animals below.

As a child I always had the wish to go to Serengeti. Why? We had on dutch tv a programm named Daktari, vet in Serengeti and what i saw, animals, give me the wish to come there once in my life. And I did, never with the idea to come back, and back and back..............
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Ngorongoro, as you read about in books, is paradise on earth. And I am here, still heart to believe I am really in Tanzania and walking in a crater!

It's marvelous to see animals everywhere! There's a lioness with a GPS on so they can follow her. We see other lions off in the distance. Many cars are behind each other. Suddenly, my guide turns. I know the group,...
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Ngorongoro Crater is jewel for viewing, wildlife, photography and beauty. It has breathtaking views as an unbroken largest caldera in the world. The lodges at the crater rim has a view to savour for the lifetime. We find it one of the must see things in Tanzania. One can never forget the experience of the crater floor and can never find that experience anywhere els...
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I saw

As a child I always had the wish to go to Serengeti. Why? We had on dutch tv a programm named Daktari, vet in Serengeti and what i saw, animals, give me the wish to come there once in my life. And I did, never with the idea to come back, and back and back..............
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This year, 2015, I was for the 2nd time in Ngorongoro. This time for 3 days. Its amazing there. The 3 days I saw so many animals but also a wildebeest calf was born, an other wildebeest deep in the mud and the hyenas already waiting for his death, lions, so many cross the road. We have been there I think half an hour and small, middle and adult lions around the ca...
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I saw

Got to see a few rhinos in this park. Was stoked. It's amazing how many animals are packed in this crater floor. Also saw a ton of zebra and warthogs. Only spent a day here and then drove off to a lodge not on the crater rim.
Biggest downer: crowds! Even the animals are used to them.
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The sweeping views of the overhead lush greenery, yellow flowers and cool winds as we descended into the crater floor made this my most favored park!

We were quickly greeted by a group of lions who leisurely crossed in front of us to the other side of the road. Other lions plopped down in the middle of the road in the shade of safari vehicles necessitating my ye...
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When you are coming from Arusha, the tarmac road ends as you reach the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

The dramatic landscape of the Ngorongoro Highlands is the perfect complement to the flatness of the Serengeti. Populated by Masai tribes, this area of grasslands, volcanoes and forests makes utterly superb hiking terrain. The area includes the Oldupai Gorge, the ...
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I saw

I am an "informal" traveler. I like designing my travel arrangements as I and use local transportation as much as possible to get a personal feel for the people and cultures I visit. I have an extensive academic background in various fields within the social science...
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It takes about a 3 hour drive from Arusha to get to the Ngorongoro Crater. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area includes the crater, the majestic Ngorongoro Highlands, wildlife and a high concentration of Maasai settlements. Maasai graze their cattle throughout the Conservation Area. This area also includes Oldonyo Lengai, a Maasai holy site which remains an active vo...
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Ngorongoro Crater is a must-see for anyone visiting norther Tanzania. I found this park especially good for photographing wildlife. There's such a high density of tourists going through here, that the animals aren't nearly as skittish and will come much closer to the vehicles. I got some great zebra shots.read more

You can't miss a full day game drive in Ngorongoro crater. This is unique place due to highest wildlife concentration all over the world. Inside the crater there is also grass and water, it's now considered “Africa’s Garden of Eden” for wildlife. Here is the place where you can spot the black rhino in Tanzania, easily you can see lions, hyena and other predators. B...
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